Rethink's Jeff Harrison and Spacecadet/Velocity's Chris Clarke at the Great Canadian Design Debate

The first issue of discussion was the economy and how it has affected business for the judges, who had gathered from across the country. Vancouver-based Rethink’s group creative director and partner Jeff Harrison said business on the west coast hasn’t felt the full brunt of the recession because it has been sheltered by the Olympics. However, he noted that Toronto-based clients have cut back and it has forced Rethink to become more creative and smarter when approaching clients.

On the east coast, Halifax-based Revolve’s creative director and partner Matthew Allen said it has been a tough year. He saw several good design shops go out of business around Christmastime but said Revolve’s growth has been steady. 

The key to surviving the downturn for Calgary-based Foundry Creative is keeping a variety of clients, said creative director and partner Zahra Al-Harazi . “We know of a shop in Calgary that dropped all of their non-housing clients during the recent housing boom,” she said. “They closed two months ago.”

Another topic up for debate was whether the globalization of design is having an effect on business in their respective corners of the country. Al-Harazi said that presentations are tough when doing business with international clients. Difficulties, she noted, include language barriers and not having the client physically in front of you.

Harrison says Rethink is bridging that gap by constructing a Skype station in its boardroom to make it seem like the client is right there with the design team. 

Mark Roberts, vice-president, design at Mississauga, Ont.-based Davis, said its business has gone from being 25 percent in the U.S. to 55 percent and credits it to getting noticed by parent companies, which are often located stateside. “Toronto is only an hour away from New York by plane,” he said. “It goes back to luck sometimes but it also goes back to whether you’re servicing your clients and being creative.”

With so many designers working across borders, the panel discussed how they think Canadian designers are viewed worldwide. Roberts said Canadian designers have an inner confidence but they need to talk about it. “I see better work in Canada than I do in other countries but we don’t talk about it,” he said.

Art director Kevin Hawley of Barefoot Creative in Kitchener, Ont., said the population of Canada plays a role in budgets and the creative that is able to be made. “When you design in Canada, you are designing for a few million people at most,” he said. “In the U.S. and U.K., you are designing for millions. Campaigns just aren’t as big in Canada, it is a practical reality.”

Al-Harazi said that Canadian designers need to first represent themselves to the non-design community in Canada before they can be better respected on the world stage. Winnipeg-based Spacecadet Design and Velocity Branding president and creative director Chris Clarke said that Canadian designers need to show they are about more than “Canadiana” but agreed that it takes the business side to make that happen.

Toronto-based Underline Studio creative director and producer Claire Dawson said that perhaps the level of respect Canadian designers get comes, in part, from the design they create compared to other countries. “Maybe the work we do could be better,” she said. “I see work coming out of London, Spain and Australia and it is all great, contemporary work.” The level of creativity also stems from business, she said. “I get frustrated with clients that aren’t willing to take risks. There is a barrier in terms of taking risks in Canadian design.” Contact: Designedgecanada.com/awards/